"Who's there?" Nawaki threateningly turns around with a stick in his hand.

"Lord Third!" Yuji and Minato recognize the intruder.

"Hoho… looks like you kids are having fun." Hiruzen picks up a slice of fish from their plate and takes a bite.

"Hoh! That's quite delicious." He turns to Yuji.

"You, lad, sure have some talent!"

"My fish!" Nawaki grits his teeth.

"That's my fish!" He yells at the Hiruzen.

"Now… now… calm down, boy! Look, another fish took the bait." He points towards the fishing pole.

"OH! We caught another fish."

Minato hurriedly dashes towards the fishing pole. He reels the string and pulls the fish with all his strength. Minato captures the fish with the help of the Yuji.

"Don't worry Nawaki. I will make another fish for you." Yuji placates Nawaki's feelings.

Sniff…

Nawaki wipes a tear from the corner of his eyes and turns to Hiruzen.

"My friends and I worked hard to capture this fish. Compensate us for this fish." He demands.

Haha…

Hiruzen burst out in laughter.

"Alright, but let me eat another fish. This fish is so good!" Hiruzen wipes the plate clean.

"I will prepare right away." Yuji nods and starts preparation.

"Oye geezer! Help us capture another fish." Nawaki turns to Hiruzen.

"I am still the Hokage, you know!" Hiruzen scratches his head.

"Which Hokage is so mean as to snatch food from kids?" He yells at Hiruzen.

"Even my grandpa and granduncle didn't do that. Wait… I never met them!" Nawaki laughs and scratches his head.

Haha…

Hiruzen burst out in laughter.

'He sure reminds me of Hashirama Sensei!'

Hiruzen helps them capture more fish.

"It's ready!" Yuji prepares another dish and hands it over to Nawaki. Nawaki hides his dish from the third Hokage and quickly gobbles it down while shouting.

"Delicious! So delicious!"

"Yuji, your fish dishes are the best." He declares with a mouthful of fish.

Hmm…

Hiruzen secretly observes the reaction of the three kids.

'Nawaki is brash and blunt, just like Sensei. In fact, he is almost a mirror reflection of Sensei.'

'Minato Namikaze is a humble and collected kid. He is very perceptive of his surroundings and quickly adjusts to his environment.' Hiruzen slightly nods his head.

'As for the third kid, Yuji Kura. He is calm and composed. There is a certain mystery to him and thus, he is very hard to read. No! It's even further than that. It seems like nothing can faze him. This isn't the bearings of a kid, it's more like the bearing of an old man.'

Hiruzen curiously stares at Yuji.

'However, he is a member of the Yuji clan. That clan has an unusual method of imparting its legacy. So, it's not strange to see deviants among them. There were even extreme cases among them. This kid's case seems to be on the milder side.'

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Hiruzen recalls the darker side of the Kura clan.

Kura clan was an extremely powerful clan of the shinobi world. The entire clan was composed of elites since mediocre members won't survive the baptism of their legacy. Nothing much is known about their legacy, however, after the baptism; the personality of the Kura clan member will see a major change. There were even some extreme cases where an extremely calm kid turned into a violent and bloodthirsty individual.

However, this clan was a crucial part of the Konoha. Since this clan was a clan filled with natural-born assassins. Sensei spent an immense effort to subdue the violent tendencies of this clan and accept them among the ranks of Konoha shinobis. This clan played a crucial role during the First Shinobi War. Their members assassinated most of the high-ranking individuals of the First Shinobi war, leading to the end of the war.

The clan leader of the Kura clan even assassinated the Kazekage, leading to a grudge between the two villages.

Hiruzen stares at Yuji and sighs.

'Such hatred led to the ruin of the Kura clan. The rest of the shinobi world hunted their members down. And soon, this kid is the only surviving member of his clan.'

Hmm…

Yuji raises his head and glances at Hiruzen from the corner of his eyes.

'That look in his eyes. Is it looking at me with pity? No… he seems to be judging me!' Yuji reads through Hiruzen's thoughts with a glance.

'I didn't have enough interaction with him to force him to make such a face. Is it my dead parents or clan members?' Yuji speculates.

'Whatever the case may be. I have no relation with them since I can't even recall their faces.'

He continues to prepare the grilled fish.

A short while later,

"It's done!" Yuji prepares the last dish for himself.

He takes a bite out of the fish and nods.

'This is not as delectable as I remember. But it's enough to supplement the nutrition for this body. The human bodies in this world slightly differ from my past world. And so does the need for nutrition, shinobis, in general, require a large amount of nutrition to perform such rigorous physical and spiritual acts and the kids are more proactive than my past life.'

"Hoh kid! You are quite talented." Hiruzen praises him.

"This is almost on par with the dish from the Yakiniku restaurant. Who taught you cooking?" He curiously asks Yuji.

Nawaki also turns toward Yuji. Only Minato focuses his attention on eating the fish.

"Yes, Yuji. This fish is so good. It's even better than what my mother makes for me."

"Well! I just read about it in a chef book I bought from the bookstore. Then with the help of Minato, I practiced a bit and somehow, I had a talent for cooking and I was able to make the such dish in a short time." Yuji scratches his head in embarrassment.

'These past few days, I practiced a lot with Minato. I deliberately made multiple failed products and fed them to Minato. Poor Minato had diarrhea for three days.'

"Is that right, Minato-kun?" Hiruzen turns to Minato.

Minato's face turns pale, and he almost pukes his food out.

"That was a nightmare!"

Hiruzen senses genuine agitation and fear in Minato's voice.

'Looks like he is telling the truth. But what kind of torture did he undergo to make such a face?'

Hiruzen glances between Minato and Yuji.

'I can't discern anything from this Kura kid and this other kid doesn't seem to be lying. So, it must be the truth. Still…'

"Oh, Yuji-kun! Can I eat one of your failed products?" Hiruzen asks Yuji out of sheer curiosity.

Ah…

Minato almost pukes again.

"Hokage-sama, I won't recommend it." He pleads to Hiruzen.

"Haha… kid, this is nothing! During the war, I spent multiple days drinking sewage water and eating worms. So, this much is nothing for me." Hiruzen makes a strong face.

"Gross!" Nawaki spits at Hiruzen's remark.

"Alright, then! I will try to cook the new dish I thought of."

Yuji picks up a fresh fish from a bucket. He notices the honeycomb-like scales on the abdomen of the fish.

'This fish has a content of histamine. This can be recognized by the slight peppery smell and honeycomb-like pattern on its abdomen. Such fishes require proper processing before they can be eaten. However, eating them without any processing will cause scombroid poisoning, which can cause a severe stomach ache for half a day.

Some chefs use proper heating at high temperatures to remove the negative effects. But since I don't have such plans, I will enhance that effect.'

Yuji heats the fish at moderate heat and adds several spices to it. He coats the fish in butter and some milk and fries it. A delectable smell wafts in the air. He garnishes the fish with some coriander and serves it to the Hokage.

"This looks delicious!"

Hiruzen takes a bite of the fish.

"Mm… that's very delicious." He savors the flavor of the fish and closes his eyes to enjoy it.

Gulp…

Drool leaks from Minato's and Nawaki's mouths as they stare at Hiruzen. They turn towards Yuji with an expectant gaze.

"That's all!" Yuji raises his hands and points toward the empty bucket.

Sigh…

Two of them sigh and clean up their plates with the river water.

"Mm…" Hiruzen finishes the fish dish and nods in delight.

"Not bad! You have some talent for cooking."

"Hey, old geezer! Where is our compensation?" An annoyed Nawaki demands him.

"Oh, I almost forgot about that." Hiruzen licks his plate clean and tosses a scroll to the trio.

"This is a method and an exercise to unlock and train your chakra. The academy will teach it to you in a few days. But with this, you can get a head start from your peers." Hiruzen smiles at them.

"Tch… I already practiced this in my clan!" Nawaki complains.

"Hoho… kid, this wasn't meant for you, but them!" Hiruzen points towards Minato and Yuji.

"Besides, do you even need anything from me?" Hiruzen asks him.

"Hmm… you are right, old geezer. But I won't forget this. You stole my fish!" Nawaki grunts and turns his head away.

Growl… Pssst…